| Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | October 1956 | |||
| Recorded |
| |||
| Studio |
Van Gelder Studio Hackensack, New Jersey | |||
| Genre | Hard bop | |||
| Length | 43:50 | |||
| Label |
Blue Note BLP 1518 | |||
| Producer | Alfred Lion | |||
| Horace Silver chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Jazz Messengers chronology | ||||
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| Horace Silver Quintet, Vol. 3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Studio album by the
Horace Silver Quintet | |
| Released | 1955 |
| Recorded | November 13, 1954 |
| Studio |
Van Gelder Studio Hackensack, NJ |
| Label |
Blue Note BLP 5058 |
| Horace Silver Quintet, Vol. 4 | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Studio album by the
Horace Silver Quintet | |
| Released | 1955 |
| Recorded | February 6, 1955 |
| Studio |
Van Gelder Studio Hackensack, NJ |
| Label |
Blue Note BLP 5062 |
Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers is an album by Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers compiling two 1955 10" LPs—Horace Silver Quintet, Vol. 3 (BLP 5058) and Horace Silver Quintet, Vol. 4 (BLP 5062)—recorded on November 13, 1954 and February 6, 1955 respectively and released on Blue Note in October 1956—Silver’s debut 12". The quintet features horn section Hank Mobley and Kenny Dorham and rhythm section Doug Watkins and Art Blakey.
Background
Recording
One of the most successful tunes from the album, " The Preacher", was almost rejected for recording by producer Alfred Lion, who thought it was "too old-timey", but reinstated at the insistence of Blakey and Silver, who threatened to cancel the session until he had written another tune to record in its place if it wasn’t included. [1] According to Silver, the track showed that the band could "reach way back and get that old time, gutbucket barroom feeling with just a taste of the back-beat". [2]
Release
Originally released as an LP, the album has subsequently been reissued on CD several times.
Style and legacy
The music on the album mixes bebop influences with blues and gospel feels.[ citation needed]
These recordings helped establish the hard bop style.[ citation needed]
These were the first sessions in which he used the quintet format which he would largely use for the rest of his career.[ citation needed]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | 
[3] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide |
[4] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | 
[5] |
AllMusic critic Scott Yanow called it "a true classic". [6]
Track listing
Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers – BLP 1518
All tracks are written by Horace Silver, except as noted.
| No. | Title | Date recorded | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Room 608" | November 13, 1954 | 5:22 |
| 2. | "Creepin' In" | November 13, 1954 | 7:26 |
| 3. | "Stop Time" | November 13, 1954 | 4:07 |
| 4. | "To Whom It May Concern" | February 6, 1955 | 5:11 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Date recorded | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Hippy" | February 6, 1955 | 5:23 | |
| 6. | " The Preacher" | February 6, 1955 | 4:18 | |
| 7. | "Hankerin'" | Hank Mobley | February 6, 1955 | 5:18 |
| 8. | " Doodlin'" | November 13, 1954 | 6:45 |
Horace Silver Quintet, Vol. 3 – BLP 5058
All tracks are written by Horace Silver
| No. | Title | Date recorded | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Room 608" | November 13, 1954 | |
| 2. | "Creepin' In" | November 13, 1954 |
| No. | Title | Date recorded | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Doodlin'" | November 13, 1954 | |
| 2. | "Stop Time" | November 13, 1954 |
Horace Silver Quintet, Vol. 4 – BLP 5062
All tracks are written by Horace Silver, except as noted.
| No. | Title | Date recorded | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hippy" | February 6, 1955 | |
| 2. | "The Preacher" | February 6, 1955 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Date recorded | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hankerin'" | Mobley | February 6, 1955 | |
| 2. | "To Whom It May Concern" | February 6, 1955 |
Personnel
Horace Silver Quintet
- Horace Silver – piano
- Kenny Dorham – trumpet
- Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone
- Doug Watkins – bass
- Art Blakey – drums
Technical personnel
- Alfred Lion – production
- Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer
- Reid Miles – design
- Francis Wolff – photography
References
- ^ Silver, H. (2007): Let's Get to the Nitty Gritty: The Autobiography of Horace Silver, University of California Press, p. 79-80
- ^ Rosenthal, D. H. (1992): Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music, 1955-1965, OUP, p. 38
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 181. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008) The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th edition). Penguin. p. 1298.
- ^ Allmusic: Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers – Review
